Bloc 83 - One Glenwood, Two Hillsborough, and Phase 3

Agree… who wants to do the tedious drive to the top of this tall deck? If you ever drive to the top of the RDU garage, it just goes on and on. And that’s a spiral ramp. This garage will take even longer to drive to the top.

2 Likes

I get it, they are an affront to the senses, but I have come to agree; if we have to have the extra parking right now I’d rather it be in a configuration that can be torn down and redeveloped sooner, as opposed to something that will maybe never be torn down because it’s underneath an actually desirable building.

Another benefit to standalone parking decks is that they make getting to your vehicle less convenient than parking plinths / attached parking, where it’s just a few steps from your car to the elevator up to your floor. The more inconvenient parking is (i.e. driving up 9 floors and having to take stairs/elevator down and then walk to your actual destination) the more convenient transit, walking or biking are in comparison.

9 Likes

My thoughts exactly!! :+1: :+1:

If it’s incorporated into a building like say how the Red Hat building is, what exactly is the problem? Retail on the sidewalk, offices above (part i this case), so no real affront to any human experience. A stand alone parking deck for any period of time (it’ll be decades of course) is much worse than incorporated parking. I feel like you all have convinced yourself that something is ok, that absolutely is NOT ok.

I think it’s comically naïve to think parking decks are going to be unnecessary in a few decades. All for density, public transit, etc. Just saying I know how most people are, and how this goes. In the 50s and 60s we thought we’d have flying cars and moon colonies and a UN/Starfleet world government by 2000. 60+ years later and we have… Normal cars, parking lots, malls, strip malls, and a hint at downtowns being desirable again. I’m not holding my breath. In the mean time, parking decks and pedestals are necessary evils. I’ve stopped caring.

6 Likes

From Sunday morning, and I may have more to upload to the “Downtown Pictures” thread but nobody is commenting on it so I’ve been cut off. :stuck_out_tongue:

This was my attempt to get all the cranes in a single shot, but as you can see I had to drop down pretty good to get the Willard site peaking above the horizon.

28 Likes

If downtown continues to grow, but we add transit and don’t add (or even in some cases decrease) road capacity then the demand for parking per unit of development downtown will decrease. Downtown will still be growing and we will still need new parking, but just not as much of it for a building of a given size. Likewise some existing buildings with parking may be able to realize revenue from their parking decks by renting unused spaces to tenants of other buildings (some of which might be new buildings built with less parking.)

It seems that some of you guys think that when I talk about reducing the amount of parking with new construction, that I am advocating eliminating all downtown parking entirely - which I absolutely am not. But to me it seems wrong to assume that things will never change, and that parking ratios will Always Forever stay exactly the same as they are today.

7 Likes

Umm, if its a tall deck, I drive to the top for the views!

4 Likes

I’d park low and take the elevator up to the top! :wink:

3 Likes

That first shot is so cool with Tower 1 mad flashing the LEDs, Tower 2 already showing glass, and the mega garage with the huge crane making the whole scene look like sim city. And the expansive tree canopy backdrop (Oak City! :deciduous_tree:) is super!

But the next shot is even more dope with the amazing sun set and the cranes all over the place. Has a good energy feel to it and seems futuristic. Thanks for the work to grab these!

7 Likes

22 Likes

Wow, the plaza between the two buildings feels more sizable than they appeared in the renderings. I really hope they’re able to get a good mix of retail tenants in to liven up the area and help increase street activation. If they get the assortment right, this is going to be west downtown’s new playground, possibly even rivaling the atmospheric vibes that everyone loves about the plaza between Union Station & the Dillion.

I think this collective bloc83 development has the potential to be neighborhood redefining for the southern end of the Glenwood South district in the same way SH is for the northern end (though of a lesser magnitude of course).
Between both the Willard and Origin hotels on either side of the development and the proximity to other bars/restaurants within walking distance, this corridor is bound to see an increase in after hours activity.
Hopefully this encourages more higher-density development to push west of Glenwood [grid area between glenwood/hillsborough/st marys/north streets - along boylan].
It’ll be so interesting to see how this area of the district ended up evolving in 10 years. Who knows, maybe a new downtown district is born? Maybe it’ll be called St. Mary’s? Downtown West? Hillsborough East? The BLOC?

Backtracking to the plaza, I wonder how much the new tenants will add to nightlife activity since they have residential neighbors right across the street, and if that will influence the types of businesses that they’d be willing to lease other than restaurants or shops? Not that I think Glenwood South needs another bar or anything, especially with Dram & Draught literally on the other side of the block. But this district (and all of DTR tbh) could desperately use some variation in entertainment options and this new plaza would be a great spot to add new attractions to explore and find for this side of downtown. It’d be a missed opportunity if this plaza isn’t activated with the pedestrian experience in mind, which includes a well-rounded mix of commercial activity, so this bookend doesn’t turn into a deadzone after office hours. Retail that actually stays open past 5pm that isn’t a bar or restaurant please?
I just wonder how the folks across the street will handle it over time? Snoopy’s can’t be responsible for the new additional noise generated by plaza activity across the street too lol. Is there an official noise ordinance for downtown?

I love that Char-Grill building and would want it to stay part of the neighborhood, and it would suck if Snoopy’s had to move, but I can’t help but wonder when the properties across from bloc 83 will be up for sale after land values increase. I can’t see the low density properties staying that way across the street from these massive mid-rises for too much longer. It looks really awkward and jarring, as highlighted looking east down Hillsborough Street.

I want to see more development along N Boylan and am excited to see Raleigh develop and thrive but I don’t want anymore character to be lost downtown. I feel conflicted about it idk lol. :man_shrugging:

14 Likes

While launching a new neighborhood/district surrounding Bloc83 is compelling to ponder, I suspect that it will only strengthen the Glenwood South brand. I feel the same way about Smoky Hollow. Both have the potential to be special enough to have their own sub-brand, but they will also have an outsized impact on future of the greater district. One can already argue that Bloc83 is the economic driver of The Willard in the same way that talk of redevelopment at the Creamery Block and the Cornerstone assemblage on Glenwood are encouraged by Smoky Hollow. As far as urban type development goes, the path of least resistance to spawn more urban investment from either of these two developments is toward Glenwood South proper because the connectivity possibilities are strongest & the resistance is probably lowest. Of course, Bloc83 will also affect the greater Hillsborough corridor as well, and the project offers the city its greatest gift of all: being the connecter between Glenwood South and The Warehouse District.
Regarding development up to St. Mary’s, it’s actually been happening for years now with projects like St. Mary’s Square and the Devon projects on the southern end & the high-end townhouse projects in the middle of the St. Mary’s corridor. The Willard will surely spawn more investment on the northern end as well.
As for Char-Grill, I really hope that it lasts. It’s a Raleigh icon and institution like the Krispy Kreme on Person St., and contributes to the city’s character. Its best hope for survival is that there’s a condo building next door that will make assembling that entire block for a mega project more difficult. Of course, it could be assembled for a project with the old gas station on the its other side, but let’s hope that it can stave off pressure.

8 Likes

23 Likes

If you can see past all the power lines :laughing:… Tower Two is looking good!

16 Likes

Took the same picture on a recent bike ride - love the view and feel of density when you get to the top of that hill coming into downtown!

10 Likes

haha! DO NOT ENTER! :laughing:

looking more and more like a city!

2 Likes

Wow, I was like… what’s those two buildings in the middle? Quite an angle!

1 Like

Make sure you stop and grab the best hot dog in Raleigh at The Cardinal. Add Beer soaked onions, chili and cheese, jalepenos, mustard and Sriracha baby!!!

5 Likes